‘Raya and the Last Dragon’: Lore as reimagined by Disney, brought to animated, triumphant end
Anchored by a moving performance from Kelly Marie Tran and outstanding animation in the film’s most action-packed scenes, “Raya and the Last Dragon” has considerable strengths.
‘True Mothers’: Happy family, unhappy prospect of a birth mother returning with second thoughts
There’s no denying the potent emotion of this story about the aftermath of an adoption that asks what it means to be a parent.
‘Promising Young Woman’: Pastel fingernails become razor claws in fight to make things right
Immeasurable rage simmers below the surface of “Promising Young Woman,” a biting play on the rape-revenge thriller with a deliberately jarring and divisive tonal shift in the third act.
‘Tesla’: Flashes of brilliance seen from a director portraying lifetimes of brilliance from inventors
If you don’t think too deeply about it, there’s plenty to celebrate in director Michael Almereyda’s latest venture, “Tesla.”
‘Palm Springs’: A confidently comedic refresh that keeps time loop genre from repeating itself
“Palm Springs” is cunning and nihilistic, romantic and hilarious – a descendent of Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day” that’s smart enough not to forget it while updating the story in a way that can’t feel too far out there for many of us right now.
‘Babyteeth’: It’s in teen-girl-with-cancer genre, but you only think you’ve seen this film before
Despite the heavy material, “Babyteeth” is so purposefully consumed with the need to live in the moment that it doesn’t so much drag the viewer down as it engulfs us into its emotional orbit.
‘And Then We Danced’: Finding a partner carries risks in this company, and its land
Anchored by a tremendous performance from newcomer Levan Gelbakihiani as a dance in training named Merab, the film captures moments of magic in what could’ve been a standard coming-of-age drama, allowing the film to transcend genre trappings and surpass expectations.
‘Les Misérables’: When Paris’ suburbs burn, police crew shares blame for lighting the fuse
Inspired by the 2005 Paris riots, “Les Misérables” explores class disparity, totalitarian ego and the impact of violence on youth, soaring in its ambition to tell stories about intimate subjects in the big, broad style of the film’s namesake novel by Victor Hugo.
‘A Hidden Life’: We see Austrian reject Nazis, stick around with Malick for all that follows
For the Malick completists, a mark of a filmmaker’s reset after a few artistic stumbles. For others, as simultaneously bloated as it is thinned out, too consumed with ideas and allegories to put enough thought into a final, emotional swell that could have left us stunned.
‘Honey Boy’: Child star dragged down by dad, as adult Shia LaBeouf gets to do the dragging
A barely scabbed-over wound being scratched at, “Honey Boy” is as personal as a story gets – based on the life of Shia LaBeouf, with a script by and starring LaBeouf as (hopefully cathartically) his own father.
